Sealing type container having improved sealability

ABSTRACT

A sealing type container includes a container body, and a sealing sheet. The container body has an opening and a welding portion around the opening. The sealing sheet seals the opening by welding the sealing sheet to the container body at the welding portion. The welding portion includes a mesh shaped welding formed by a plurality of welding lines, which are crossed each other.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to a sealing type container, and more specifically, to a sealing method of a sealing type container.

BACKGROUND

A sealing type container including a container body and a sealing sheet to seal an opening of the container body is generally known.

Such container body can be sealed by the sealing sheet by a following manufacturing process of the sealing type container.

At first, the opening of the container body is covered by the sealing sheet. Then, the sealing sheet is pressed to the container body along the entire periphery of the opening of the container body with a heated horn to weld the sealing sheet to the container body. The sealing sheet can also be welded by pressing the horn by applying ultrasonic vibration.

In such welding process, a horn 7 has convex surfaces 72 such as pyramid-like shape as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to conduct an efficient welding. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the horn 7 has concave portions between the convex surfaces 72.

Such convex surfaces 72 may contact a to-be-welded member (e.g., sealing sheet) from top portions of the convex surfaces 72 during a welding process. Because such top portions of the convex surfaces 72 are arranged on the horn 7 with a predetermined distance from each other as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the convex surfaces 72 may press the to-be-welded member (e.g., sealing sheet) in a sporadic manner when the convex shape 72 presses the to-be-welded member (e.g., sealing sheet).

In such a case, the concave portions formed between the convex surfaces 72 of the horn 7 may not effectively contact a surface of the to-be-welded member (e.g., sealing sheet). Under such condition, welding lines may not be effectively formed, thereby an incomplete welding may continuously result on welded portions and such continuous incomplete welding may become a source of leaking of a material filled in the container body to the outside of the container, or a source for intrusion of foreign materials from outside of the container to the inside of the container.

In one method, a mark is formed on a pressure surface of a horn to judge a welding effectiveness. However, such mark may increase the manufacturing cost because of placement of such mark on the pressure surface of the horn.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to a sealing type container including a container body, and a sealing sheet. The container body has an opening and a welding portion around the opening. The sealing sheet seals the opening by welding the sealing sheet to the container body at the welding portion. The welding portion includes a mesh shaped welding formed by a plurality of welding lines crossing each other.

The present disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing a sealing type container having a container body and a seal member. The method includes the steps of covering and pressing. The covering step covers are opening of the container body with the seal member. The pressing step presses the seal member and the container body with a pressure member. The pressure member includes a pressure portion to press the seal member to the container body to form a mesh shape welding on the seal member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendant advantages and features thereof can be readily obtained and understood from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional horn;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the conventional horn of FIG. 1 as viewed from the direction shown by an arrow C in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a sealing type container and a sealing process of a sealing type container;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a sealing type container sealed by a sealing sheet;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of mesh welding for a sealing type container;

FIG. 6 is another plan view of mesh welding for a sealing type container;

FIG. 7 is another plan view of mesh welding for a sealing type container;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a horn for a sealing type container according to an exemplary embodiment; and

FIG. 9 is an expanded view of FIG. 8, which is expanded at P in FIG. 8, for explaining the dimensional relationship of the horn according to the exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In describing the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosure of this present invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected and it is to be understood that each specific element includes all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, a sealing type container is described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 9.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the sealing type container 5 can be manufactured as explained below.

As shown in FIG. 3, an opening 2 of a container body 1 is covered by a sealing sheet 3, at first.

The sealing sheet 3 and the container body 1 is pressed by a heated horn (to be described later) along peripherals la of the opening 2 in a direction shown by an arrow A in FIG. 3 to weld the sealing sheet 3 to the container body 1. Such welding is conducted along a welding width 4 shown in FIG. 3.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the sealing sheet 3 is welded to the container body 1 to cover the opening 2 of the container body 1. With such process, the sealing type container 5 can be manufactured.

As shown in FIG. 4, the container body 1 and the sealing sheet 3 are welded at a welding portion 41.

Hereinafter, a welding for the sealing type container 5 conducted by the horn is explained with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, and 7.

As shown in FIG. 5, the weld portion 41 includes a plurality of weld lines 41 a and a plurality of polygon-shaped portions 41 b, which are not welded.

The polygon-shaped portions 41 b are formed by the weld lines 41 a, which cross each other as shown in, FIG. 5. The polygon-shaped portions 41 b have rectangular shapes such as the square shape in FIG. 5, a hexagonal shape in FIG. 6, and a triangular shape in FIG. 7, but are not limited to such shapes.

The sealing type container 5 can be manufactured from following material with the above-described method.

The container body 1 can be made of materials such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin, which includes glass fiber, for example.

The sealing sheet 3, which is used to cover the opening 2, can be made of materials such as a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin having a thickness of 0.1 mm, for example.

The sealing sheet 3 is placed on the container body 1 to cover the opening 2. Along the peripherals 1 a of the opening 2, the sealing sheet 3 is pressed to the container body 1 with a heated horn 6 (see FIG. 8), which is heated to 220 degrees Celsius, for example, in the direction shown by the arrow A in FIG. 3.

The horn 6 can be made of materials such as aluminum, for example, and the horn 6 includes a pressure portion 61 protruded from a surface of the horn 6.

After placing the sealing sheet 3 on the container body 1, pressure is applied to the sealing sheet 3 from the horn 6 (see FIG. 8) to weld the sealing sheet 3 to the container body 1 at the welding portions 41, wherein a pressure of 0.8 kgf is applied for 20 seconds, for example.

With the above-described process using the pressure portion 61, the weld lines 41 a and the polygon-shaped portions 41 b can be formed on the sealing sheet 3 simultaneously.

The sealing sheet 3 can also be welded to the container body 1 by applying ultrasonic vibrations to the horn 6.

For example, the horn 6 made of titanium can apply a pressure of 0.4 kgf for 0.1 seconds, for example, to weld the sealing sheet 3 to the container body 1 with ultrasonic vibrations of 21 kHz frequency applied to the horn 6, for example.

With such ultrasonic vibrations, the horn 6 is biased in the direction of the container body 1 so that the pressure portion 61 bites into the sealing sheet 3. P The pressure portion 61 having a depth of “d” shown in FIG. 7 bites into the sealing sheet 3 to weld the sealing sheet 3 to the container body 1. The biting depth of the pressure portion 61 into the sealing sheet 3 can be changed, as required. For example, such biting depth may be 0.8 mm.

The container body 1 and the sealing sheet 3 can be made from materials such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyetherimide (PEI), polyether sulfone (PES), polyoxymethylene (POM), polyethylene (PE), and polypropylene (PP), for example.

The container body 1 and the sealing sheet 3 are preferably made from same material.

Hereinafter, the pressure portion 61 of the horn 6 is explained with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, wherein FIG. 9 is a partial view expanded at region P in FIG. 8.

The pressure portion 61 is formed on the horn 6 in a mesh line manner so that the sealing sheet 3 can be welded to the container body 1 with meshed weld lines as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7.

As shown in FIG. 9, the pressure portion 61 has a first width “a” and a second width “b”. The first width “a” corresponds to a width of the pressure portion 61 where the pressure portion 61 is connected to the horn 6. The second width “b” corresponds to a width of a head end of the pressure portion 61.

The first width “a” and second width “b” have a relationship expressed by a<b, that is the first width “a” is equal to the second width “b” or less.

With such relationship expressed by a≦b, the contact area of the pressure portion 61 and the sealing sheet 3 when the pressure portion 61 is pressed to the sealing sheet 3 can be maintained at a stable level.

If the first width “a” and the second width “b” have a relationship expressed by a>b, a contact area of the pressure portion 61 and the sealing sheet 3 when the pressure portion 61 is pressed to the sealing sheet 3 can become larger as the pressure portion 61 is pressed toward the sealing sheet 3. In such a case, a pressure applied to the sealing sheet 3 from the pressure portion 61 may not be stabilized during the welding.

With the above-described manufacturing process, one exemplary sealing type container was manufactured as discussed below.

The container body 1 was filled with silicone oil, and the peripherals la of the opening 2 was sealed with the sealing sheet 3 to make the sealing type container 5.

The resultant sealing type container 5 was left in a depressurized environment (e.g., 0.85 atmospheric pressure) while reclining the sealing type container 5 to a horizontal direction with respect to the gravity. The silicone oil filled into the sealing type container 5 did not leak to the outside of the sealing type container 5.

In the above-described example embodiment, a mesh shaped welding can be formed by a number of the polygon-shaped portions 41 b and the weld lines 41 a as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7.

Therefore, even if incomplete welding happens at a part of the weld portion 41 due to surface irregularities or foreign materials on the container body 1, such mesh shaped welding as a whole can reduce the effect of such incomplete welding.

Accordingly, the sealing type container 5 can improve its sealing-ability, thereby leakage from or an intrusion into the container body 1 can be effectively prevented.

Furthermore, as above-described, the pressure portion 61 has the first and second width having the relationship of a≦b. Under such condition, the pressure portion 61 of the horn 6 contacts the sealing sheet 3 while maintaining a stable contact area between the pressure portion 61 and the sealing sheet 3 when the horn, 6 conducts welding. Therefore, pressure applied to the sealing sheet 3 from the pressure portion 61 can be maintained at a stable level. With such stable pressure, the weld portion 41 can be effectively formed between the sealing sheet 3 and the container body 1.

If the pressure portion 61 has the first and second width having a relationship of a>b, the contact area between the pressure portion 61 and the sealing sheet 3 changes as a pressing of the horn 6 to the sealing sheet 3 progresses. In such a case, pressure applied to the sealing sheet 3 from the pressure portion 61 may not be maintained at a stable level during the welding process.

Numerous additional modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosure of the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

This application claims priority from Japanese patent application No. 2004-359185 filed on Dec. 10, 2004 in the Japan Patent Office, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. 

1. A sealing type container, comprising: a container body having an opening and a welding portion around the opening; and a sealing member configured to seal the opening by welding the sealing member to the container body at the welding portion, wherein the welding portion includes a mesh shaped welding formed by a plurality of welding lines, which cross each other.
 2. The sealing type container according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member includes a plurality of polygon-shaped portions defined by the plurality of welding lines, which cross each other, and the plurality of welding lines on the sealing member are concave shaped with respect to the polygon-shaped portions.
 3. The sealing type container according to claim 1, wherein, the sealing member is sealed to the container body by a pressure member having a pressure portion.
 4. The sealing type container according to claim 3, wherein the pressure portion of the pressure member presses the sealing member to form the mesh shaped welding on the sealing member.
 5. The sealing type container according to claim 3, wherein the pressure member comprises a horn.
 6. The sealing type container according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member comprises a sealing sheet.
 7. A sealing type container, comprising: means for forming a container having an opening and a welding portion around the opening; and means for sealing the opening by welding the means for sealing to the means for containing at the welding portion, wherein the welding portion includes a mesh shaped welding formed by a plurality of welding lines, which cross each other.
 8. A method of manufacturing a sealing type container having a container body and a sealing member, comprising the steps of: covering an opening of the container body with the sealing member; and pressing the sealing member and the container body with a pressure member, wherein the pressure member includes a pressure portion configured to press the sealing member to the container body to form a mesh shaped welding on the sealing member. 